Success had gone to my head, says Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla has been busy recently creating awareness about the hazards of radiation. She's also be seen in debutant director Soumik Sen's film with Madhuri Dixit

CS caught up with her in a tell-all mood. Here are some excerpts:

Luck by chance
Everything in life has happened by chance. I applied for the Miss India contest following in my friends footsteps. There was no concept of grooming then. I remember wearing a friends ghagra-choli. Funnily, I don’t even remember who did my make up. Luckily, I won the competition. The next thing I know is that I was travelling alone abroad for the first time for the Miss Universe competition. But as luck would have it, I won the best national costume title. That’s when I realised that God has given me extraordinary opportunities in life and I began working hard.

Heady success
Success can go to one’s head and I rejected some good offers. I feel I became conscious after doing Yash Chopra’s Darr, I began limiting myself by having a set idea about only doing romantic and commercial roles which left no scope for experimentation or good meaningful cinema. Thankfully, I realised my mistakes soon enough.

Mera no.1
I never aimed at becoming the number one actress and never became one, I was always amongst the top few. Also, its scary at the top as you are always afraid of losing that position. When I passed through that phase, I was plagued with doubts about doing the right things. Also, there are distractions, but an artist should only focus on doing good work.

Wide canvas
I play a negative character in my next film, which is not only interesting but also takes me out of my comfort zone. It is challenging and exciting, I now believe in doing my best in whatever I take on.

Star struck
As a child, we friends would collect post-cards of film-stars. Once, we went for a film shoot and I went up to Hema Malini, the reigning star for an autograph. But she looked through me and I was heart-broken (laughs). But when I approached Om Prakashji who was also at the shoot, he obliged by adding a smily to his autograph. Since then I do the same with every autograph of mine.

A worthwhile cause
After the media picked up the issue of mobile towers, I have seen them disappear from around my house. But it set me thinking about the health hazards it poses for people who carry their cell phones in their pocket or keep it near their bedside. One is allowing them to constantly feed on radiation. So, I decided to help raise awareness about this issue. Cell phone is a phenomenal invention; but we are using it irreverently. It’s time to learn about its safe usage. u00a0

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